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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23127913">The Instance of the Curry Cup</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/brotherhoodofcats/pseuds/brotherhoodofcats'>brotherhoodofcats</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword &amp; Shield | Pokemon Sword &amp; Shield Versions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Confessions, Fluff, Multi, PostwickShipping, background raihan/leon - Freeform, hpyu, piers being the tired big brother for all the kids, their dubwools are in love too</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:55:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23127913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/brotherhoodofcats/pseuds/brotherhoodofcats</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A group chat leads to a party that leads to a curry cooking competition. Piers relentlessly teases Gloria for having a crush on Hop. Hop has a crisis. Just another day in the life of some of Galar's most prominent figures.</p>
<p>Set a year postgame! Rated T for language (not frequent, just sticking to the safe side!)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hop/Yuuri | Gloria</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>101</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Instance of the Curry Cup</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Given that this is set a year and a bit postgame, I'd say Hop and Gloria and the other kids are about 16 or a little under, as I generally headcanon them as being 14/15 or so during the game! Also, given the snippet of group chat at the end of this, here's a preemptive list of the nicknames and who they actually are:<br/>Hippity Hop = Hop<br/>Eat Sand = Raihan<br/>Champion Time Snr = Leon<br/>Croon Toondra = Gloria<br/>Mermaid = Nessa<br/>Big Tiddy Goth GF = Piers<br/>Flame Dad(dy) = Kabu<br/>Wooloolooloo = Milo<br/>Kung Fu Fighting = Bea<br/>Rocky Horror = Gordie<br/>Baby Goth = Marnie</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It had all started with a group chat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Not long after becoming Champion, Gloria had been added to the gym leader group chat. Leon, Piers, and Opal were still in it and she had learned quickly that Piers, Gordie, and Raihan were the instigators of most of the chaos in that chat. Marnie seemed to encourage her brother a little too much on that front, but overall it was fairly controlled chaos.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then the second group chat came about.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Raihan had started it, mainly to avoid Melony’s constant reminders to be aware of the language being used with Allister around on the other chat. Subsequently, neither Melony nor Allister were on the new chat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nearly everyone else was, though, besides Opal. Even Hop and Sonia had been added, given that it was more of an open chat than the “official” gym leader one. Given that combination, however, it was far more of an ordeal to try and deal with that group, and with Piers and Raihan apparently never sleeping at all, it felt like Gloria’s Rotomphone was constantly buzzing with notifications at even the most insane hours of the night.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had been just over a year since she’d won the Champion Cup, and Gloria now found herself standing in the kitchen of Leon’s sizable flat in Wyndon, surrounded by the physical embodiment of the most ridiculous parts of that second group chat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Raihan had suggested the party-but-not a few weeks back, and after a fair bit of negotiating schedules, it had been decided that tonight was the best night to do it, so here they all were. Gloria was glad for the reprieve from her neverending Champion duties, and she’d been absolutely over the moon to see Hop again after what seemed like forever.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And now here she was, knocking elbows with her rival-slash-best friend as they and a bunch of their partially tipsy adult friends battled it out in what had been dubbed the Curry Cup by whoever had suggested the stupid idea in the first place. Probably Raihan.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Two minutes left!” Slurred Sonia from across the bench. She was just about completely relying on Nessa to stay on her feet at this point, yet somehow still had it in her to decide how much longer those of them competing could cook for. Coming to these gatherings had certainly been an eye-opening experience for Gloria, seeing so many of the most well-known figures in Galar coming together and getting completely sauced for the hell of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You said ten minutes literally thirty seconds ago!” Hop whined, haphazardly throwing in some extra ingredients to finish off his curry when Sonia simply waved him off. Gloria wondered how much of Sonia’s hangover her friend would have to deal with at the lab in the morning, or if the young professor simply wouldn’t show up at all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It certainly wasn’t two minutes before all of the participants were ushered away from their curries, but Hop still seemed quite confident with his final product. Gloria couldn’t say the same for her own, especially being so used to taking her time with cooking when she camped out with her Pokemon. Not that she had much time to do that anymore, really.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry to say, but I’m definitely crushing you in this competition, mate, I can just feel it!” Hop said as he slung a friendly arm around Gloria’s shoulders, watching intently as Sonia, Nessa, and Bea walked along the row of curries on the bench to judge them all. Gloria tried to ignore how warm her face was suddenly feeling, but the look she got from Piers told her she wasn’t doing a great job at hiding it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Damn her own big mouth for blabbing to him about her crush on Hop, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>one time </span>
  </em>
  <span>she couldn’t sleep and happened to be awake at three in the morning, with Piers being the only one she could think to message at that hour. It had been a good conversation, actually, but still.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Every time she’d seen him since then, it seemed like he was teasing her about Hop. Even </span>
  <em>
    <span>directly in front of Hop. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was constant, but Piers claimed it was because Marnie didn’t get crushes on people, so he was using her as a stand-in when it came to teasing about that kind of thing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ignoring the ex-gym leader’s very obvious silent mocking, Gloria turned her attention back to Hop and lightly elbowed him in the side before wrapping her own arm around him in return. “As if,” She laughed, “Who’s the undefeated champion in this room? I’ve got this in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>bag.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As it turned out, neither of them were destined to be crowned the Curry Cup Champion, and the competition ultimately went to Leon. Hop decided that it was all rigged because the judges weren’t sober, and had wandered back into the living room with a dramatic huff as most of the other guests went to congratulate his brother.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Piers seemed to take the opportunity to suddenly appear next to Gloria with a ridiculously smug look on his face. “Seems you’re ‘aving fun. Said anything to ‘im yet?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She folded her arms and pouted crossly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“No.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Cannae say anythin’ with </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>nearby anyway, you’re such a pest.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Piers scoffed. “Please. I’m doing the both of you a favour, bruv, since ‘e won’t say it and neither will you. The two’ve you are gonna go crazy if this keeps up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>gonna go crazy if I ‘ave to watch you idiots keep dancin’ around each other for the rest of time!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up, he’s obviously not got anythin’ to say on the topic. Do ye </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>how much he talks? Surely he’d have said something by now if there was somethin’ to say.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you ‘ave any idea how much he talks to me? ‘E always messages me at times kids your age shouldn’t be up, sayin’ how he doesn’t want to bother you but can’t sleep and keeps thinkin’ about you so ‘e decided to message me and blah blah blah. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please </span>
  </em>
  <span>just tell ‘im so that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>messages you when he’s thinkin’ about you, there’s only so much more of his sappy shit I can take.” Piers practically begged, seeming like he was mere seconds away from pulling out his phone to show her the evidence. Gloria didn’t doubt that Hop had messaged him plenty, but she still wasn’t convinced that he reciprocated her feelings, even though she knew she had no reason not to believe Piers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Still, she pulled up the collar of her cardigan to try and hide the bright blush on her face at the thought of Hop being all sappy about </span>
  <em>
    <span>her. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The question still remained, though, “Why doesn’t he just tell me that himself? Not like he hasn’t messaged me at four AM before sayin’ he misses me or whatever. Gotta say I’ve done the same, prob’ly more sappy than him too.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Piers gave a dramatic sigh and turned back towards the kitchen. “I need another drink. You’re ‘opeless, the both of you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Gloria let out a huff of her own, but decided now would be a good time to retreat after her rival, hoping that maybe now they could </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>catch up a bit more now that she’d gotten Piers off her back and everyone else was still preoccupied in the kitchen. Only, she got to the living room and found Marnie and Bede, with no Hop in sight. The other two weren’t sure where he’d gone, only giving a vague direction to “outside.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With that clue in mind, Gloria headed for the balcony, recalling how Hop had mentioned once that he liked to stand out there and see if he could spot Postwick in the distance, past all of Wyndon’s bright lights and vast expanse of the Wild Area even further past that. It seemed like a good place to start.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>True to her assumption, Hop was leaning against the railing and squinting out into the night, so she casually sidled up next to him and prodded his shoulder. “Thinkin’ about something, Hopscotch?” She questioned, a gentle teasing note in her voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hop shrugged. “Nothing to worry about, mate. Just the usual.” His tone was flatter than Gloria had been expecting, so she raised an unconvinced eyebrow at him despite the fact that he wasn’t looking at her yet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The good usual or the anxiety usual?” The teasing was gone now, replaced with concern as she let her hand rest on Hop’s shoulder. Many late-night phone calls over the past year had made Gloria well aware of the fact that her best friend still suffered greatly from the many untruths and insecurities that his mind threw at him, even though he seemed to be doing better than he ever had before on the outside, and it was always heartbreaking to watch when he got like this.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop calling me out like that.” Hop joked halfheartedly, his weak smile quickly falling back into a frown, “But really, don’t worry. Just me getting all upset over something stupid again, which is the usual.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Gloria squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll bet my hat it’s not stupid. Is it the competition?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded sheepishly following a moment of silence, as if he knew he wasn’t getting out of this now. “It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>stupid. Who gets worked up about losing some stupid curry contest that Raihan came up with anyway? It was supposed to just be some fun thing and I ruined it for myself by...by doing what I always bloody do, you know? Losing, and then getting upset about losing, and then getting upset because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’m never going to be number one at anything, and then beating myself up for being so </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and--”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey.” Gloria interjected, “You’re not stupid, you hear me? Losing doesn’t make ye stupid. Being upset about things doesn’t make you stupid, and your brain lying to you about your worth doesn’t make ye stupid. You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>stupid, alright? You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>strong.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> She encouraged, shifting to settle her arm properly across Hop’s shoulders and pull him closer to her side. Their height difference was making it a little harder now that he’d suddenly sprouted almost half a head taller than her since the last time they’d seen each other, but Gloria didn’t care.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hop didn’t say anything, but leaned into her a little more, so she continued. “You wanna know a secret? You’re my number one. Always have been. So don’t go sayin’ you’re not the best at anything, because you’re the best to me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was nothing but the sound of Wyndon's bustling streets below for a long moment, but suddenly Gloria was being pulled into a tight hug, with Hop's head resting atop hers. "Thanks. Really." He breathed into her hair, "For the record, you're my number one, too. Undefeated champ or not." The soft laugh he let out that time was genuine, and Gloria couldn't help the smile that came to her face in response. Never would there be another sound as sweet as Hop's laughter, she thought. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When she finally leaned back just enough to look at Hop properly, Gloria had to take a breath to compose herself, suddenly noticing the lack of space between their faces. She hadn't intended on that happening, so she tried to ignore it, like she always tried to ignore her feelings for him. "Say, I was thinkin' about going camping in the Wild Area tonight, wanna tag along? We could make some curry together with our Pokemon, no competition allowed." That wasn't exactly the usual way one went about ignoring their feelings, but at this point she figured it didn't matter. How many times had they camped out together anyway? No big deal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hop beamed. "Sounds brilliant! Shall we go now?"</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Gloria laughed, but was already reaching into her bag to find Flygon’s pokeball. Since becoming Champion she’d realised she needed to be extra careful about keeping her Pokemon as close to her as possible, especially given that she now had Zamazenta as a trusted member of her team. She didn’t want anything to happen to any of her dear Pokemon friends, which was why these days she always kept her bag on her, or at least within arm’s reach no matter where she was. Just in case.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Flygon let out a happy trill as it burst from its pokeball, setting down expectantly on the balcony behind Hop and Gloria as if it already knew their plan. The two young trainers quickly climbed aboard the eager Pokemon's back, and Gloria's heart began to race when Hop settled in behind her and curled his arms around her waist. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We're about to take off, you daft bastard, of course he's gotta hold onto something</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she reminded herself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, Flygon, let’s get goin’. To the Wild Area!” Gloria announced. The Pokemon didn’t hesitate to take to the sky once again, both of its passengers whooping with delight once the initial jolts and jerks had passed. Maybe a Flying Taxi would’ve been a smoother ride, but there was something so much better about trusting your own Pokemon enough to transport you safely to where you wanted to go, and it was certainly cheaper than paying to get all the way to the Motostoke side of the Wild Area from Wyndon in a Flying Taxi.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had already been reasonably dark when they’d left Wyndon, being a little while after dinner time by then, but by the time they made it to North Lake Miloch it was well and truly night time outside. Gloria had actually started to doze off at some point when there had been a pause in conversation, and she awoke with a start as Flygon landed back on the ground. Thank goodness for Hop being able to direct Flygon as effectively as she could herself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Still, the heat rushed back to her cheeks when she realised that she’d been leaning almost entirely back into Hop’s chest as she’d fallen asleep, but by that point she could only hope that he hadn’t taken too much notice of it. They’d fallen asleep on each other plenty of times, anyway, why should it matter now? Catching feelings was annoying.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If Hop had thought anything of it, he didn’t mention it, and the two of them went about setting up camp with as much friendly banter as usual. Gloria had a handful of berries and half a bag of mushrooms in her supplies, while Hop had some other berries to contribute as well as a few potatoes. They figured it would all mix well enough together, so they let out all of their Pokemon and set to work.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe </span>
  </em>
  <span>letting twelve Pokemon have free reign of the camp wasn’t the best idea.” Hop commented when Gloria’s Flareon came up for the third time to try and taste some of the curry before it was ready. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” The Champion said coyly, gently shooing away her meddlesome Pokemon, “They’re all such angels, they’re not doing anything wrong at all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hop laughed. “You’re right, it’s just Flareon. And also our Dubwools chasing each other around everywhere. And Zacian and Zamazenta looking like they’re about to murder anyone that dares get too close to the camp.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Gloria shrugged as she fished around for a few plates to get ready for serving up. “At least they’re looking out for us. I feel better having them ‘round, just in case.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fair call.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Not long after that, the curry was served and most of the Pokemon had been settled down by the offer of some food. Hop and Gloria sat close together by the fire that Flareon and Hop’s Cinderace were keeping an eye on, and chatted idly about this and that, all sorts of things that they’d missed in each other’s lives since the last time they were able to meet up, or even have a long conversation on the phone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There were neverending topics to cover. Hop being able to do research on some of his own projects now, Gloria’s latest exhibition matches, silly things they’d caught their Pokemon doing...it always felt as though they’d never missed a beat when they saw each other, like no matter where they left off they could always pick it right back up again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know,” Hop said after a while, once they’d both truly lost track of time and could only guess that it was some time in the middle of the night by now. Gloria was leaning against his shoulder, with his arm casually draped around her in return as they both lay up against their Dubwools. “I really wish we got to do this more. I mean I know we’re both really busy and all now, but…” He sheepishly glanced away, “I dunno. I just miss you, mate. A lot.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Gloria gave a gentle smile and leaned into Hop a little more. “I know the feeling. Seems like we went from seeing each other every day when we were growin’ up, to once or twice a week during our Gym Challenge, to now...what, once a month if we’re lucky? It’s stupid, I just wanna see my best friend all the time.” She sighed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>How long would it be after this time that they’d be able to spend an extended period of time together like this again? Sure, Gloria had tomorrow as well, but after that she had to head to Kalos for Arceus knew how long for all manner of exhibition matches and photoshoots and advertising campaigns. It was unfair how little time she got to spend at home anymore, she still didn’t know how Leon managed to do it for ten years straight, and from an even younger age than her, for that matter! </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hop’s next quiet comment cut her out of her spiralling thoughts. She could’ve sworn there was a slight blush tingeing his cheeks, but it could’ve just been the firelight. “Best friend, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She quirked up a brow in surprise and sat up slightly. “Aye? Always have been, always will be, you know that. Is...something wrong?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Surely </span>
  </em>
  <span>this wasn’t going where her lovestruck teenage brain was hoping it would. There was no way Hop liked her like that as well. Piers </span>
  <em>
    <span>could not </span>
  </em>
  <span>be right about this whole thing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The boy in question kept his gaze trained on his lap, but Gloria felt his fingers tapping a nervous pattern on her shoulder, where he still had his arm around her. “I, um.” Hop started, rather eloquently, “I...like you. As in, </span>
  <em>
    <span>like </span>
  </em>
  <span>like you. And I think I have for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> long time but I just never wanted to say anything because I figured you wouldn’t like me back since we were always just best friends, but...sorry. You don’t have to like me back, I just wanted to let you know. Just in case, I guess. I’m sorry. Shouldn’t have opened my big mouth.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Gloria could’ve sworn her heart stopped in that moment. She felt like she was acting on autopilot when she reached over to grab Hop’s free hand, only hesitating for a fraction of a second before pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek as well. His skin was soft and warm under her lips, and she felt so giddy as she drew back to look at Hop’s adorably surprised expression, his wide golden eyes and slightly parted lips. An irrational part of her mind wanted to lean in and kiss him properly, but now certainly wasn’t the right time for that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>I like you back, Hopscotch. Honestly cannae believe you didn’t notice how unsubtle Piers was being about teasin’ me literally every single opportunity he got, he’s an idiot.” Gloria laughed, giving his hand a squeeze as he seemed to still be processing what had just happened.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hop managed to sputter out a laugh of his own a second later, pulling Gloria closer to his side and planting a little kiss of his own to her head. “Are you kidding me? I thought Piers was teasing </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> about it constantly. I had a three AM crisis to him </span>
  <em>
    <span>months </span>
  </em>
  <span>ago about it, I can’t believe it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Gloria snorted in her laughter, causing a few of their nearby Pokemon to look at her with concern. “I did the </span>
  <em>
    <span>exact same thing. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Arceus above, I really thought he was havin’ a laff when he said you were messaging him about me!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Serious? With the way he said it I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was kidding when he said you were doing the same thing as me! Maybe he was right, we really are dumb.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Somehow they ended up in a bit of a tangle as they laughed, unapologetically clinging to each other now that they were both apparently on the same page with what it all meant. Maybe nothing had really changed that much with their admissions at all, maybe - much to both of their dismay - Piers </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been right, and they’d just been subconsciously waiting for </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone </span>
  </em>
  <span>to say something this whole time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Either way, once they had finally composed themselves enough to focus, Gloria leaned in to press her cheek up against Hop’s. “So...Hop, my dearest best friend and favourite rival.” She teased, “You wanna...be my boyfriend as well?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hop grinned, his eyes crinkling up with glee. “Gloria, mate, my number one and favourite champ, </span>
  <em>
    <span>obviously </span>
  </em>
  <span>yes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Gloria beamed. “Great. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Brilliant.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She whispered giddily.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The following morning, a photo of the two of them in close quarters surrounded by several of their Pokemon was sent to the group chat, accompanied by a short message.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Hippity Hop [7:48AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>sorry we disappeared last night lads, spontaneous camping trip! also we’re dating now. have a great day :)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Eat Sand [7:49AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>wait...you weren’t already dating???</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>bloody hell my life is a lie</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>leon why’ve you been lying to me</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Champion Time Snr [7:53AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>this is news to me mate i thought they’d been dating since they started the gym challenge</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Croon Toondra [7:54AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>WHAT?!?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>....you’re havin a laff right</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Eat Sand [7:54AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>no lee really said he thought hop was your boyf</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Croon Toondra [7:55AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>canny believe ye lee</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>thought we were friends</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Champion Time Snr [7:55AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span> ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Mermaid [7:58AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>honestly i agree w/ the boys i thought you were bf + gf for ages</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>sonia said you were</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>she can’t defend herself rn she’s still passed out hungover so</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Big Tiddy Goth GF [8:00AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>bout time innit</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>felt like reality tv at this point</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>congrats tho took you ages</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Flame Dad(dy) [8:03AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Congratulations, although I have to say I was also under the impression you had been together since the Gym Challenge.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Wooloolooloo [8:04AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Same here! You two are right cute though so congrats :)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Kung Fu Fighting [8:07AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>yeah rai told most of us that lee told him ages ago so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ good job anyway you cute</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Rocky Horror [8:10AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>think we can all just agree someone was wrong and we’ll leave it there</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>that someone was lee but we’ll ignore that</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>reckon he’s just tryin to get us off his back about him and rai ;)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Champion Time Snr [8:11AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>thanks everyone appreciate it</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>also gordie please shut up</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Hippity Hop [8:12AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I forgive you lee!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>at least for the sake of this group chat &gt;:)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Big Tiddy Goth GF [8:14AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>get him hop it’ll be funny</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>lee watch out bruv</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>also you’re literally as bad as the kids with your feelings it’s disgusting</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Baby Goth [8:15AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ignoring piers i’m happy for you two :D</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Also thought it was a thing but that’s coz it just seemed like you were</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>No one actual said anythin to me</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Croon Toondra</b>
  <b> [8:17AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>love ye all but i’m also fookin over ye dkjafhf</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>lee just go sulk and cuddle your boyf</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Eat Sand [8:18AM] :</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>who’s lee’s boyf???? &gt;:(</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>oh wait i see</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>fml</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So um. Hi!<br/>I haven't posted anything for nearly two years even though I've really been meaning to. I fell in and out of a few fandoms over that time and I wrote a shit ton of stuff but never finished any of it? And god forbid I ever post something and don't finish it, so here we are. Two years later and writing Pokemon fanfiction!<br/>I'm actually writing another larger-scale Pokemon SWSH fic at the moment but that is in very early stages, so I won't be posting any of that until I know I'm going to finish it! I have so many ideas, so many ships, and so few braincells to make anything comprehensive out of that.<br/>Anyway, as always, thank you so much for reading! Feel free to follow me on Tumblr @brotherhoodofcats for all manner of shitposts and fanart!<br/>&lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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